Sad-iron.



No. 693,876. Patented Fab. 25, I902.

A.- LUETHI.

SAD IRON.

(Appfication filed In. 31, 1901) (No Model.)

In: mums min 10.. mojouma, WASHINUTGN a. Q

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TIIIRDS TO WILLIAM A. ENGSB LAKEMILIJS, WVISCONSIN.

ERG AND CONRAD'ENGSBERG, OF

SAD-IRON.

SPECIFICATION ;formingpart 0:: Letters Patent NO. 693,876, datedFebruary 25, 1902. Application filed January 31, 1901- Serial No.45,429. (No model.)

To all whom it maly'concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER LUETHI, re-' siding at Lakemills, in thecounty of Jefferson and State of WVisconsin, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in Sad-Irons, of

which the followingisadescription, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

My invention has relation to improvements in sad-irons of the particularform of con-' struction in which the handle portion is removable.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide an improvedconstruction of the type of sad-iron wherein the handle portion isslidingly fitted to the body portion which shall be simple inconstruction and inexpensive of production.

A still further object resides in an improved construction whereby thecatch which is employed for detachably locking the handle portion to thebody portion is prevented from accidentally becoming unlocked when theiron is lifted up and turned from its normal horizontal position. I,

' With the above and otherincidental objects in view the inventionconsists of the devices and parts or their equivalents, as hereinafterset forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation with partsbroken away.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view 011 the line 2 2 of Fig. 12 Fig. 3 is a rearelevation. Fig. 4 is a plan View of the base of the handle portion, thehand-guard and legs of the handle being re moved. Fig. 5 is a section onthe line 5 5 of Fig. 1 looking toward the left, and Fig. 6 is a view ofa modified form of hand-guard.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 7 indicates the body of the iron,which is provided in its top surface with a longitudinal mortise 8,extending from the rear edge of the body forwardly, butterminating shortof the forward end of the body. This mortise gradually narrows towardits forward end, and the forward end wall thereof is inclined orbeveled, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The side walls of the mortise,except at the rear end thereof, are vertical, as clearly shown in Fig.5, while said rear end is of dovetail form or flared outwardly, asindicated by the numeral 9, the sides of the flaring portion beingundercut or beveled.

The removable handle portion of the iron consists of a base 10, ahandpiece 11, pref-- erably of wood or some other poor conductor ofheat, and asuitable connection'between the base and the handpiece. Thebase is of corresponding shape to and its side walls fit the sides ofthe longitudinal. mortise 89 of the bodythat is to say, it has thevertical side walls, which are adapted to fit loosely the correspondingwalls of the mortise, and it isprovided with therear flaringor dovetailportion 12, with beveled side walls, which closely fit the correspondingundercut walls of the dovetail portion of the mortise 8. The forwardextremity of the baseis beveled downwardly to form a projecting tongue13, which closely fits the correspondingly-beveled end wall of themortise. vided at an intermediate point with a slot 14, adapted toaccommodate a catch 15. The catch is pivoted on a pin 16, the endsofsaid pin being mounted in lugs 1717, which extend upwardly from'thebase. This catch is composed of an upper horizontal or approximatelyhori- 'zontal arm and a lower rearwardly-extending arm, formingpractically a bell-crank lever. The pivotal point of the catch is at theangle of these two arms, and said arms therefore extend rearwardly fromthe pivotal-point, so

that the weight is on one side of'the pivot.

For conveniently operating the catch the upper arm thereof is advisablyformed with a knob or finger-piece 18. the catch when the base isadjusted to the mortise, as shown in Fig.1, fits in a depression 19 inthe bottom of said mortise, the end of said lower arm preferably bearingagainst an inclined end wall of the depression.

In the form of construction illustrated in Figs. -1 to 5, inclusive, theconnection between the base 10 and the handpiece ll of the han- Thelower arm of dle portion of the iron is made from a single 9 piece ofmetal, said metal being bent to form the legs 20 20 and the horizontalplate 21, said plate forming a hand-guard. The legs are connected attheir upper ends to the opposite ends of the handpiece and are alsopreferably pressed outwardly longitudinally, as indicated by thenumerals 22 22, in order to give strength thereto. The guard-plate isheld a slight distance above the base by means of short lugs 23,extending upwardly from said base, the plate being connected thereto bymeans of screws 24 24. The plate is advisably of a width equal to orsubstantially equal to the width of the body of the iron, so that thehand of the operator grasping the handpiece ]1 will be protected fromthe heat arising from the iron. The said guard-plate, furthermore, isprovided with a slot- 25 for the accommodation of the upper arm of thecatch.

It frequently becomes necessary in the use of an iron to lift the samefrom the ironingboard and tilt the iron slightly in order to test thebottom of the iron and see if it is stlfficiently heated. When so liftedand tilted, if no means were provided to guard against such acontingency there would be a tendency of the catch 15 to becomedisengaged, and consequently the base of the handle portion to becomeaccidentally separated from the body of the iron. To prevent this, Iprovide a spring-tongue 26, which is adapted to engage a shoulder27,formed on the catch, which engagement of course causes the catch 15 toremain in engagement with the end wall of the depression 19 under suchconditions. The syn'ing-tongue is preferably formed in the guard-plate21 by providing said plate with elongated slits 28 28, extending to theslot 25 and forming therebetween a springy or-elastic tongue.

In adjusting the handle portion to the body of the iron the narrow endof the base of the handle portion is first inserted in the rear widedovetail portion of the mortise and said base slid along until the lowerarm of the catch 15 drops into the depression 19. When this engagementoccurs,the projecting tongue 13 of the base is seated beneath theinclined forward end of the mortise, and hence the forward end of thebase is locked against being withdrawn upwardly out of the mortise. Inorder to release the handle portion from the body of the iron, all thatis necessary to be done is simply to pull upwardly on the knob 18, andthis will raise the end of the lower arm of the catch out of engagementwith the end wall of the depression 19. The base is then free to he slidrearwardly, and when slid suificien t] y far to release the tongue 13the base can then be lifted upwardly out of the mortise. lVhen the twoparts are connected in the manner explained, the rear end of the base isin firm engagementwith the rear end of the mortise, owing to thedovetail and beveled shape of the rear end of said base, which eifeets awedging engagement with the correspondingly-shaped portion of themortise, and also the tongue 13 closely fits the beveled end wall of themortise. In view of the fact, however, that the side walls of theremaining portion of the base are vertical and loosely fit thecorresponding walls of the mortise it will be evident that if the metalswells through excessive heat the base can still be readily removed, asit is only necessary to slide the base rearwardly a slight distance toeffect this result.

By the employment of the guard-plate 21 the hand of the operatorgrasping the handpiece 11 is thoroughly protected from the heat whichmay ascend from the iron. By forming this guard-plate and the legs ofthe handle portion in one piece simplicity in manufacture is alsosecured.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings I have shown a guard-plate which is intendedto be entirely separate from the legs of the handle and to be employedin connection with a sad-iron of a form of construction in which thelegs extend upwardly directly from the base 10-such, for instance, as inthe form of sad-iron covered in United States Letters Patent issued toL. Passmore, No. 196,763, dated November 6, 1877. In this modified formthe guard-plate is indicated by the numeral 21, said plate beingprovided with a slot 25 for the accommodation of the catch and with aspring-tongue 26 to engage a shoulder on the catch, as in the principalform of construction. This plate, however, is provided at opposite endswith the slots 29 29, which slots are openat their outer ends. In theform of iron in connection with which this plate is adapted to be usedthe plate is first adjusted between the legs, so that the legs engagethe slots 29, and

said plate then adjusted downwardly until it contacts with lugs similarto 23, being secured to said lugs by means of screws or equivalentmeans.

What I claim as myinvention is- In a sad-iron, the combination of a bodyportion having a longitudinal mortise in its upper side, said mortisebeing open at its rear end, a base fitting the mortise of the body,

said base provided at'an intermediate point with a slot, a plate aboveand secured to the base and provided with a slot registering with theslot of the base, and also provided with two slits forming aspring-tongue therebetween, and a pivoted catch disposed in theregistering slots of the plate and base, and having its lower armreleasably engaging the body, and its upper arm extending above theplate, and one of its edges provided with a shoulder which is adapted tobe engaged by the spring-tongue, whereby the lower arm of the catch isheld in locked engagement with the body in order to prevent, when theiron is uplifted and tilted, the sliding disengagement of the base fromthe body of the iron.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CONRAD ENGSBERG, E. J. PEASE.

